Here’s a question for you – what season do you really spend the most time on your home? I think the answer changes for everyone: for some, the winter months are great because you don’t have a yard to focus on, while for others, spring and summer means you can get some trickier projects done with extra air from the outdoors. No matter what though, it seems quite a few people are focused on prettifying their place in the fall in anticipation of holiday guests. As the leaves begin to turn colour, I thought it might be high time to feature a design brand with some very cool features – DiaNoche Designs.
Based in Colorado, the heart and soul of the company comes from their incredibly unique line of illuminated art. If you’ve never seen such a thing (I certainly hadn’t), essentially what looks like a piece of art during the day comes to life at night when it’s illuminated by a backlit panel. As long as you can place the piece close to an outlet, you can discretely dazzle your guests as the night progresses by removing the cord during the day, or purchasing a cord cover to hide or match your decor.
Alternatively, DiaNoche Designs carries plenty of kid-friendly styles that work wonders as nightlights that capture the imagination. The illuminated art pieces are outfitted with energy efficient LED lights, meaning they last for up to 50,000 hours. Plus, they have a handy on / off switch and detachable power cord. Prices for the art vary by size, but range in price from start $150- $450, making them ideal housewarming, wedding, or even anniversary gifts. If you’re not sure what exactly your giftee would love, you can also pick up a gift certificate so they can peruse to their heart’s content.
What’s extra cool is DiaNoche Designs has expanded their line to a number of other complementary pieces. If you fall in love with a particular piece of artwork, you can purchase a matching duvet cover, pillow, throw blanket, or shower curtain. The brand sources their imagery from a number of independent artists (including some Canadians!), so if you’re drawn to a particular style, you can also just mix-and-match various pieces from a single artist, or multiple artists with similar aesthetics for a complementary effect. I recommend a visit to the DiaNoche Designs ‘Decor Ideas’ section on their website (link to come!) for ideas on which artists work well together.
In terms of the styles, they’re really all over the map in a good way, but in general provide a serious pop of colour. You can go with really realistic, photographic imagery, abstract paintings, childlike illustrations, or artistic vistas and objects – honestly it’s so easy to find one (or a dozen) styles to like. You can even use your own photos, art, or child’s art on any of their products for no additional charge. If you find an image applied to one object but not another, it can actually be applied to almost everything that DiaNoche Designs produces. I really love the idea of locking into an image and then building a room around it, which is particularly easy to do with a child’s room or a bathroom.
Shipping is actually pretty reasonable when you consider the size and scale of items – no matter what item you choose, it’s $20, with additional items clocking in for $15 a piece when ordered at the same time (at least via their Etsy store).
One particularly nifty and timely thing about DiaNoche Designs is they are *just* about to launch a new site (watch this space for an updated link). In the meantime, you can view a large portion of their collection via Etsy. And there you have it – several fresh ways to liven up your walls, bed, couch, or bathroom as we roll through the fall season. I hope you’ve enjoyed learning about DiaNoche Designs – plus stay tuned for some featurettes on their Canadian artisans in the coming weeks. In the meantime, one of you lucky readers is going to score a $150 piece of illuminated art! Here’s how to enter:
1) Leave a comment by September 30th, including a link back to your favourite piece of art from DiaNoche Designs and what you’d apply it to (blanket? duvet? illuminated art?). For now, all you early birds can view their collection at Etsy, but this spot will be updated once their flashy new site is rolled out
2) Entries are limited to one per person / per email address / per household (or more if you score bonus entries). A random draw will be conducted on or around October 1st to select the winners, who will have 48 hours to respond before another winner is chosen in their place.
3) Entries are limited to Canadians that have reached the age of majority in their province. Quebec is not eligible for this promotion.
4) Bonus Entry: There will, of course, be multiple ways to earn bonus entries for this giveaway throughout the month – it’s in your best interest to subscribe to the CGG to stay in the loop kids! But to start – pin up to three of your favourite items from the DiaNoche Designs site (or for now, their Etsy shop) and leave links back to those Pins to score yourself up to three bonus entries!